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Metformin associated with reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in diabetics

The antidiabetic medication metformin is associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in diabetics, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. However, other commonly used therapies, such as insulin or insulin secretagogues, may be associated with increased risk for the deadly disease.

3 Aug 2009

Sibling risk of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and adenotonsillar hypertrophy

A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP indicates that children have an increased risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) if they have at least one sibling who has been diagnosed with the sleep disorder.

3 Aug 2009

Seven out of ten U.S. children low in vitamin D

Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

3 Aug 2009

Research may bring powerful new test for inflammatory lung diseases

Chronic inflammatory lung diseases like chronic bronchitis and emphysema are a major global health problem, and the fourth leading cause of death and disability in developed countries, with smoking accounting for 90% of the risk for developing them.

3 Aug 2009

Hospitals treating wealthy foreigners to assure cash flows

International patients spending $3 billion a year on care in the United States are helping fund a gap for hospitals waiting with bated breath to see how health care reform will affect them, Marketplace reports.

31 Jul 2009

Electronic health records for the U.S. difficult to do, but could pay off

"Creating an electronic health record for every American by 2014 is a big part of Obama's agenda but it may be easier said than done," CNN Money reports.

31 Jul 2009

Industry lobby wars heighten as reform efforts progress

"Healthcare companies are spending millions of dollars and marshaling armies of lobbyists to influence a landmark debate in the U.S. Congress that could dramatically change the way they do business," Reuters reports.

31 Jul 2009

Gene therapy for retinitis pigmentosa

An international team of scientists and clinicians from the United States and Saudi Arabia are working to develop gene therapy for treating a rare, hereditary retinal disease.

31 Jul 2009

Health-related quality of life in chronic kidney disease patients

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can significantly lessen patients' quality of life, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Certain types of patients - women, diabetics, and those with a history of heart complications - are most affected.

31 Jul 2009

New journal devoted to gene therapy and human genetics

The Gene Therapy Review was first launched in 2008 as an online source of information on all aspects of gene therapy with sections comprising information on gene therapy research, news, disease targets, patient resources and companies offering services to the gene therapy community. It then further featured a clinical trials database detailing all gene therapy clinical procedures completed to date.

31 Jul 2009

High costs in McAllen prompt inquiries into physician ownership, self-referral and a major lobbying campaign

Lobbying efforts by Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, in Edinburg, Texas, have steered hundreds of thousands of dollars to key lawmakers in hopes of blocking reforms that would restrict ownership of hospitals by physicians, the Associated Press/Dallas Morning News reports in a follow up to an article in yesterday's New York Times.

31 Jul 2009

Virus may play role in causing some cases of squamous cell carcinoma

A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people with the second most common form of skin cancer among Americans, according to researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

31 Jul 2009

New guidelines issued for H1N1 vaccine campaign by Federal Advisory Committee

During a meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday, a "federal advisory committee issued sweeping guidelines … for a vaccination campaign against the pandemic swine flu strain, identifying more than half the U.S. population as targets for the first round of vaccinations," CNN reports (Hellerman, 7/29).

30 Jul 2009

Pilot program to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis in South African communities examined by New York Times

The New York Times examines a Doctors Without Borders pilot program to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis in South Africa that allows patients to stay in their homes rather than be isolated in hospital during treatment.

30 Jul 2009

House Democrats set to move bill after accord with Blue Dogs, Liberals objecting

House Democrats on Wednesday made a deal with fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats on a health reform bill that "would reduce the overall cost of the package and ensure more funding for rural hospitals, concessions that could allow the Energy and Commerce Committee to finish its consideration of the legislation," The Washington Post reports.

30 Jul 2009

Lobbyists continue pressing their cases on health reform

Pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, advocacy groups and others with a stake in health reform continue to lobby in hopes of winning concessions in the overhaul, or at least surviving the changes unscathed.

30 Jul 2009

Blood transfusions associated with infection

A study of almost 25,000 coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients has shown that receiving blood from another person is associated with a two-fold increase in post-operative infection rates. The research, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, also found considerable hospital variation in transfusion practices.

30 Jul 2009

Machine designed to reduce infections and cut back on expensive "disposables"

Johns Hopkins experts in applied physics, computer engineering, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, microbiology, pathology and surgery have unveiled a 7-foot-tall, $10,000 shower-cubicle-shaped device that automatically sanitizes in 30 minutes all sorts of hard-to-clean equipment in the highly trafficked hospital emergency department.

30 Jul 2009

Short-term complications after bariatric surgery for extreme obesity low

Short-term complications and death rates were low following bariatric surgery to limit the amount of food that can enter the stomach, decrease absorption of food or both, according to the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-1). The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Results are reported in the July 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Jul 2009

Depression missed and misidentified

A meta-analysis of more than 50,000 patients has shown that general practitioners (GPs) have great difficulty separating those with and without depression, with substantial numbers of missed and misidentified.

30 Jul 2009